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Addressing others with honorifics

Rob

Inactive Member
quick bit of help for anyone who decides to try and use Japanese honorifics when posting/RPing etc. and doesn't know what to do. Hope this helps ^_^

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Honorifics (The Addressing of People):
"Honorifics" in the American sense would be the category into which terms such "Mr, Misses, Miss" and other similar phrases fall into. They are used primarily when addressing somebody in a formal sense and are usually coupled with a person's last name and not their first. In Japan however, the situations in which honorifics are used is much more common place and can couple both first and last names with honorifics. (Note: Remember, the proper means of writing a name in Japan is the family's name [last name] first and the first name last.)


Chama
A combination of sorts of the two honorifics "Sama" and "Chan", "Chama" is used to refer to somebody who is considered a young master, typically a male.

Chan
Used only in cases of familiarity or friendship, the "Chan" honorific is always paired with names of people of a younger age, typically females. To use it in reference to somebody older than yourself is to show a great amount of disrespect. Chan can also be used in reference to pets.

Dono
An extremely old and typically antiquated honorific, "Dono" is used to show respect and admiration coupled with a degree of personal emotion. The honorific is used when one person wishes to show respect to his superior or one that he or she considers their master.

Hime
Literally, "Hime" means simply princess. This is the only instance in which Hime is used. Anime fans will note the relation to the movie "Mononoke Hime".

Kun
Primarily used in reference to young males, the Kun honorific is placed after the first name and used in casual conversation usually between males that have known each other for quite some time. In extremely rare cases it will be coupled with a female's name, but this is highly rare.

Ko
The "Ko" honorific is similar to the "Kun" honorific but is used entirely in reference to females. It appears during times when one female is addressing another or when a male has an amount of familiarity with a female. A friendly and casual honorific, Ko really shows no particular degree of reverence or respect.

Ouji
The male counterpart of "Hime", Ouji is used in reference to males. It literally means prince. Anime fans are unlikely to come across this word unless paying close attention to Japanese dialogue.

Sa
Used entirely by the female half of the population (outside of instances of homosexual relationships), the "Sa" honorific is used when a wife wishes to refer to her husband.

Sama
Exactly the opposite of the "Kun" honorific, the "Sama" honorific is used in cases when extreme amounts of deep respect are required to be shown. The Sama honorific usually FOLLOWS the family name. A good example is of a student referring to his martial arts master or a soldier referring to his Emperor or superiors.

San
The "San" honorific is the second most versatile of Japanese honorifics second only to "Chan". It is used in both cases of familiarity AND unfamiliarity. In both scenarios, San will be used to donate a certain amount of formality. It is regularly paired with words such as Okaa (mother) and Otoo (father). The arrangement of the honorific is always word-san.

Sempai
Common in organizations when formality is required amongst its members, the "Sempai" honorific is used when a person wishes to refer to his superior. Similar to "Sama" or "Sensei" but somewhat less exalting.


(above information copied from www.animeadrenaline.com )
 
~sensei: "teacher." It literally means 'born before.' This is also used with famous people, like movie directors, and manga writers. It's also used for doctors, but with different kanji.

~nee :(or Onee-san/-chan) This means 'older sister' and its usually used like ~nee-chan, or ~nee-san. It can be used with females around the ages of 15 to 25-ish as a polite way of addressing them.

~nii: (or Onii-san/-chan)'Older brother.' its also usually used like ~nii-chan or ~nii-san. This and ~nee-chan are for older people that you're close to, if you're a kid. Also like '~nee-san' it can be used for males of 15-25-ish..

~jou: (or Ojou-san) This is used for young, rich girls. It has a meaning close to 'young mistress' or a 'little lady.' Most of the times I hear it used are when a butler or something is talking to/about his young, rich female charge.


(above additions from http://bobmink.com )
 
-Omae In Japan, there are various first- and second-person pronouns, and which word a person uses says a lot about their social roles. For example, for the word corresponding to "you," Japanese men will usually use a name with -san or -kun after it (polite), the word kimi (somewhat familiar, used among friends) or the masculine word omae (oh-MAI-eh), depending on who they're talking to. This third word is quite interesting to study. It's generally only used by men (or in anime, ultra-Tomboy type females), and generally from a superior to someone below him, i.e. senpai/upperclassmen to kouhai/underclassman, parent to child, dog owner to pet, etc. Choosing to use omae to refer to a person verbally reinforces a certain relationship, i.e. that you are above them in status, so the potential to offend someone by using it improperly is great. If a man says omae to a woman he's romantically involved with, he's basically implying that she belongs to him, in effect saying omae wa ore no mono da, or "You belong to me." Some Japanese women find this term very romantic and get all fluttery inside when they hear it, while others -- Japanese women who've lived in America or Europe, I am told -- dislike having men refer to them with this word.

From Jlist.com mailing list.
 
Ranks: Military ranks are used in the same way as a normal honorific. Star Army rank suffixes are listed below:

-Taisho (Fleet Admiral)
-Chujo (Admiral)
-Shôshô (Vice Admiral)
-Taisa (Captain)
-Chusa (Commander)
-Shosa (Lieutenant Commander)
-Taii (Lieutenant)
-Chui (Sub-Lieutenant)
-Shoi (Acting Sub-lieutenant)
-Juni (Warrant Officer)
-Jôtô Heisho (Superior Petty Officer)
-Ittô Heisho (1st Class Petty Officer)
-Nitô Heisho (2nd Class Petty Officer)
-Jôtô Hei (Superior Soldier)
-Ittô Hei (Soldier 1st Class)
-Nitô Hei (Soldier 2nd Class)
-Santô Hei (Soldier 3rd Class)
 
What about such prefixes as:

Shihan:
Meaning "teacher of teachers", "master instructor" or basicly the best at what they do

Senpai:
Means senior, elder, superior

kyou:
Lord, Lady, Dame

Sama:
Mrs, Miss

Dono:
Sir, Madam

Denka:
His/Her/Your Highness, used for royal/imperial family members

Heika:
His/Her/Your Majesty, is used for the Emperor or Empress

-shi:
Is an intermediary form between "san" and "sama" in terms of politeness, and is mostly used for professionals

-tan
Is a slang version of -chan

There are also some impolite afterfixes (I can't think of the right name)their intensity depend a lot on the intonation and context, like "-baka", or the ever ruder "-yarou" (and combination "bakayarou", which is however normally used alone as an insult). So, "kyaku-yarou" These can also be used individually, like in "ano yarou !" ("this asshole !") or "baka !" ("moron" !)
 
These were all very helpful and I'm stoked to see that Wes didn't say anything about Hime being used as I may or may not have had my character call his "Hanako-hime" in RP recently...
 
Perhaps we should make a wiki page for these so they don't get lost in the forum churn. But we should rewrite them because some of the above text is likely from other sources.
 
RPG-D RPGfix
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